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Saturday, 4 May 2013

Sepia Saturday 175; Ciggies;

In 1913, R.J. Reynolds developed an innovation: the packaged cigarette.

Most tobacco users who smoked cigarettes preferred to roll their own. Reynolds worked to develop a flavor he thought would be more appealing than past products, creating the Camel cigarette, so named because it used Turkish paper, in imitation of then-fashionable Egyptian cigarettes. Reynolds undercut competitors on the cost of the cigarettes, and within a year, he had sold 425 million packs of Camels.

I guess, this Advertisement would not be so popular today!

Camel cigarettes were originally blended to have a milder taste in contrast to brands that, at the time of its introduction, were considered much harsher. They were advance promoted, prior to official release, by a careful advertising campaign that included "teasers" which merely stated that "the Camels are coming"(a play on the old Scottish folk song, "The Campbells Are Coming"). This marketing style was a prototype for attempts to sway public opinion that coincided with the United States' entry into World War I, and later World War II. Another promotion strategy was the use of a Circus camel, 'Old Joe', which was driven through town and used to distribute free cigarettes. The brand's catch-phrase slogan, used for decades, was "I'd walk a mile for a Camel!"

Popular Christmas presents!

The most famous historical style of Camel cigarettes is the soft pack of the regular, unfiltered variety (generally known as Camel Straights or Regulars). These were the first blend of Camels to be released. Camel regulars achieved the zenith of their popularity through personalities such as news broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, who smoked up to four packs of Camel regulars per day, in effect using a Camel cigarette as his trademark.

In late 1987, RJR created "Joe Camel" as the mascot for the brand. In 1991, the American Medical Association published a report stating that 5- and 6-year olds could more easily recognize Joe Camel than Mickey Mouse, Fred Flintstone, Bugs Bunny or even Barbie.[3] This led the association to ask RJR to terminate the Joe Camel campaign. RJR declined, but further appeals followed in 1993 and 1994. On July 10, 1997, the Joe Camel campaign was retired and replaced with a more adult campaign which appealed to the desires of twenty-somethings to meet-or be-beautiful and exotic women in 1930s attire and themes.

The signature scene on most Camel cigarette packs shows a single dromedary standing on desert sand, with pyramids and palm trees in the background.
On the back of the cigarette pack is another desert scene, featuring this time bazaars and mosques. On European and some other non-U.S. versions, the desert scenes have been replaced by a health warning.

Yea,I often thought Camels to be strong.Infact I often thought "Camel" a strange choice of name..given that,in my addled brain,I always associated "Camel" with "Dung".I alway prefered French cigarettes,thinking I would cough in a sexy french way.........

It's funny isn't how the thought of giving someone cigarettes as a Christmas present is completely weird/abhorrent nowadays but was obviously thought of as exceedingly generous or special only a few decades ago.

I think the Joe Camel ad makes smoking look unappealing--as if it is saying "this is what your face will look like if you smoke." I reminds me of the anti-smoking posters that showed women's faces full of wrinkles that were attributed to smoking.